Everything Has Changed
by iluvh0rs3s
Summary: Sonny comes back to Salem after being away for over a year to regroup after his disasterous marriage to Will ended. What he finds is not the Salem he remembers. He runs into Paul, who tells him a story that does not seem real. What happened in Salem while he was gone? WARNING: Major character death and angst


_Author's note- So this story came from a conversation I had with another writer, JKing88, who I owe a lot of credit to. I wrote this out of frustration with the current storyline, and how I could see things possibly happening. Warnings: Major Characters deaths and MAJOR ANGST! I may have changed some of the characters a bit, but I hope you all like it. This is very sad, and has a little bit of underlying mental health issues at times, so be warned!_

Sonny Kiriakis walked briskly through the weirdly dead Salem town square. He had been away for almost a year, needing to get out of Salem after the miserable failure of his marriage to Will Horton. It had been really hard, but he needed to get away from everything and figure out how to start all over again. The pain from everything Will had done to their marriage still stung at times, and after he had given Will chance after chance, but now he felt he was finally at a point where he could face anything and everything. Even his ex-husband.

Will had not made any attempts to contact him over the last year, except for the few phone calls in the very beginning after he left begging him to come back and stay, and he did not get very many updates from his family about Will and Ari. He did miss the little girl, and hoped that Will had moved on and grown up enough with his life to allow Sonny to see Ari. She had probably grown so much, and he wondered how much she was talking and walking, and if she was driving everyone crazy.

He walks by _Club TBD_ , and his heart drops into his stomach when he sees the _For Sale_ sign on the door. He moves to try and open the door, but it is locked up tight and won't budge. He can't believe that Chad closed up the club, and that no one in his family bought it to keep it going. He had sold all of his shares to Chad, using the profits to travel around the world again and find himself. While he knows he has no rights to the place, it still hurts him to know that his former friend did not try to keep the place going.

Turning away from his former business, he continued to walk through the town square and ended up at the Brady Pub. Looking inside, he was again surprised to see that not many people were in the pub. He was so used to people being everywhere in Salem, that this ghost town made him wonder what had happened to his former home.

Suddenly, a familiar voice calling his name pulled him out of his thoughts. "Sonny?"

Sonny whipped around to see Paul Narita staring back at him. _'God he looks good'_ he thought to himself. His heart pounded at the sight of his ex-boyfriend. They had not spoken or seen each other in a year, but Sonny could not deny that he thought of his former lover a lot and a big part of him coming back was to see Paul. To see if there was something still there without Will being around to cloud his judgment. To maybe, _maybe_ , see if now, with everything behind them, they could try and start their relationship again.

"Paul" he said.

Paul was stunned for a moment to see Sonny, feeling like he was seeing a ghost. After what had happened in the past year, he truly thought he would never see Sonny again. He quickly snapped out of it and moved forward to hug Sonny.

"How are you?"

Sonny smiled. "I'm good. I just got back to Salem today and was just touring around. I have to admit, Salem does not look like anything that I remembered."

Paul looked away. "Yeah, well, a lot has changed in a year, Sonny. Salem is nothing like how it used to be." A haunted look passed over Paul's eyes that Sonny noticed, but did not comment on right away.

"So, how are you? Are you still living here or just visiting?" he instead goes for.

Paul softly smiles. "I'm good. Still figuring out my options in regards to living. I have been staying here, still living either out of a hotel or with my dad from time to time, but I'm probably going to move back to San Francisco in a few months. Salem doesn't really feel like home, even with my newfound family here." ' _Especially after all that has happened'_ he thought to himself.

Sonny's smile fell at that. "Oh, o-okay." Sonny was upset by this. He had wanted to come back here and rebuild his life in Salem, but he was hoping that could include Paul as well.

"What about you? Are you moving back to Salem?"

Sonny shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. I came back to see my family, but I am still trying to figure out my options. I'm not sure there is much keeping me here though. I saw that Chad is selling the club."

Paul nodded. "Yeah it has been for sale for a few months I think. Your uncle had wanted to buy it, but Chad refused. I had thought about buying it at one point, but now I don't think it would be a good idea."

"Why would Chad refuse to sell to my uncle? If he does not want the business, it shouldn't matter who it goes to." Sonny couldn't help but feel good about the fact that Paul had wanted to buy his club. Even though he said it wasn't a good idea, maybe Sonny could change his mind.

"Sonny, like I said, a lot has changed here. I think Chad didn't care that he held on to a closed business as long as Victor did not have it. After what your family did to Will, Chad felt justified in keeping it from him."

That stopped Sonny. What was Paul talking about? "What?! I don't understand. What my family did to Will? How does that make any sense?"

Paul sighed, realizing he said too much and Sonny was probably not aware of a lot going on in Salem. "The DiMera and Kiriakis feud kind of started again, and Will has aligned himself with Chad and Stefano."

That just floored Sonny. How could Will do that? After everything, how could Will align himself with Stefano Dimera? And after everything he did to get peace, how could everyone let the feud start up again between the two families?

"How could Will align himself with Stefano? Didn't his family try to stop him?"

Paul sighed. "After everything Will had been through, most of the town pretty much just leaves him alone. He wants nothing to do with most of his family. I think he still talks to him mom from time to time, but other than that, I don't know."

Paul studied Sonny's face, noting the shock and disbelief at everything that Paul was telling him. Paul realized that Sonny had no idea about anything going on in Salem, and he had a feeling of dread that he was going to have to tell Sonny the worst news of all.

And Sonny then brought it up. "What about Ari? How could Will bring Ari into all of this?"

Paul looked to the ground, not sure of how to bring this up, and the ball of dread grew in Sonny's stomach. "Paul? Please, tell me…"

"She died a few months ago in a car accident, Sonny. I'm so sorry no one told you."

Sonny stared in disbelief at what he was hearing. The little girl he had helped deliver into this world was suddenly ripped away and now gone. How could this happen? And why didn't anyone tell him? Even though he had not seen her in a year, he still thought of her all the time, and wanted her in his life. He raised her. He was going to be there for all of the major events in her life, like her first love, her first heartbreak, when she got married, and when she had kids of her own. This couldn't be real.

"Why am I only finding out about this now?"

Paul shrugged. "I don't know. Sonny, things between Will and your family have been really bad since you left. The only reason they leave him alone now is because he lives with Chad and Stefano at the mansion and they were forced to leave Will alone. Although, I have to admit, and I am sorry about this, but I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for most of your family."

Sonny collapsed on the bench outside the pub. Nothing of what Paul was telling him made sense. This all had to be some sick nightmare he dreamed up or some elaborate scheme cooked up to hurt him. Paul realized he was going to have to start from the beginning. Looking in the pub and seeing that not a lot of people were in there, he pulled Sonny in and guided him to a booth in the back, away from anyone who could see. He waved the waitress off, and then sat down across from Sonny.

"I'll try to explain what has been going on, but keep in mind I don't know everything."

Sonny nodded and stared at Paul with tears in his eyes, grieving for the goddaughter/semi-adoptive daughter he lost.

Knowing he needed to get another piece of major news out of the way first, to help explain everything, Paul said, "First, there is one other major thing you need to know. Will never cheated on you in L.A."

Sonny's body shot back in surprise. "What? B-but h-he…he admitted to it. That was part of the whole reason why we got divorced and I left."

"I know. Will honestly believed that he cheated on you. But that was not what happened."

Sonny didn't believe this. This had to be some kind of joke or something. Something that Will schemed up to try and make everyone feel bad for him and eventually try to get Sonny to come back to him. To see where this all was going, he decided to play along. "Then what did happen?"

Paul swallowed heavily and sighed. "Will was raped out in L.A., by the writer they brought in to help Will."

Again, the second or third time in less than 30 minutes, Sonny felt like he had been kicked in the stomach. Will was raped in L.A.? How could he honestly believe he cheated on Sonny if he had been raped? Sonny had to be in some twilight zone episode or a bad trip dream he couldn't escape.

"Will was drugged, so he has no memory of what happened. What he told you was honestly what he had been told by the guy. Apparently the guy had been flirting with Will, and Will didn't realize anything was wrong. They were working together, and Will claimed the guy seemed really friendly and wanted to help Will. Then one night, I guess a bunch of people went out and the guy invited Will. Somehow, Will had been slipped something, and people didn't notice because they thought he was just drunk. The guy took Will back to his place, possibly drugging him some more, and then raped him. Will has no memory of this, and only woke up the next morning in bed with the guy. The guy somehow convinced Will that what happened between them was consensual, that they were both drunk and wanted it."

Paul paused for a moment to let Sonny absorb the information, and then continued. "Will denied ever wanting it, and left the guy. But he had no proof of what happened, and when he talked to other people, they all claimed both of them looked and seemed drunk, so Will assumed it was true. He felt so ashamed and guilty that he tried to pretend it never happened, and I guess got fired and came home. And you know what happened after that."

The words are spinning around in Sonny's mind. He can barely comprehend what he has learned so far, and he has a feeling it is not over yet. He still did not quite believe this was true, since Will did not act like he felt guilty when he came home, but something kept telling him that Paul was not lying to him.

Seeing the look on Sonny's face, Paul calls the waitress over and orders a coke and a glass of water. He can tell that Sonny is having a hard time believing everything that Paul is telling him, and Paul would too, if he had not lived through all of it.

"Sonny, look, this is a lot to take in right now. I'm sorry. I shouldn't be telling you all this."

"You're right, and it sounds crazy. I should have known and heard about this a long time ago. But if this is all true, and that is a big if Paul, no one else is probably going to tell me, and I have a right to know about it. So I want to know. _I need to know_."

The waitress brings their drinks back and leaves. Sonny takes a big drink and then leans forward. "How do you know all of this? Did Will tell you all of this?"

Paul shook his head and sighed. "I was there through all of this. Despite our differences, I really don't see Will as a bad guy. Sonny, he may have done a lot of things to hurt you and others, but there is no way he made all of this up. Not after everything I have seen. I know it is hard to comprehend, but I am not telling you this so you forgive him for everything. I am telling you this because you have a right to know what has happened in this town and how badly people have screwed up when it comes to Will Horton. I would never lie to you about Ari being dead. And everything that happened is part of the reason why I am not sure I can continue living in Salem."

Sonny only stares at Paul, helplessly feeling like this all was not a bad dream. Paul continues. "I saw him one day in the park, alone, looking like he was about to cry. I went over to talk to him, and while he told me to leave him alone at first, actually he snapped at me, but eventually I got him to open up. He admitted he had been struggling really badly after you left, and that your family had been pressuring him to give them custody of Ari."

Sonny was appalled at that. How could his family try to make Will give up his daughter? Wasn't that just like what Nick tried to do and they all stepped up to make sure that didn't happen? "Wh-what?" he stammered out.

Paul nodded. "Will could barely keep his head above water with bills and trying to provide for Ari. He struggled, and had to constantly ask people to watch Ari for him since he couldn't afford to pay for a babysitter anymore. When I saw him, he was stressed out because the rent was due soon and he wasn't sure he would have enough to pay for it and buy groceries. He admitted he had to ask his grandma Kate for money, and felt humiliated at that. Even worse was the fact that his dad Lucas found out and went back to your mom, who then went to Victor. They all tried to make Will see that he was incapable of caring for Ari and she was much better off with their family, _your family_. Will refused, but I could tell he was really wondering if he could handle it. He started to cry at the thought of giving up his daughter, but he was afraid of screwing up his daughter's life. He actually told me he believed that this was all a sign that he did not deserve to have anything good in his life, and Ari was too precious to him to screw up."

Sony's heart broke at the thought of Will all alone trying to care for Ari and wondering how he was going to get food on the table. Guilt began to eat at him a bit, thinking about the fact that he was not there to help Will and be the support he needed, but he reminded himself that Will was the reason that they did not work out.

Paul decided to continue. "I felt so bad that I offered him money, but he refused. I actually pulled out $100 and handed it to him, but he pushed it away. I think he honestly just needed someone to listen to him. I told him that, while he and I did not get along, I knew that he was a great father and should not give up his daughter to anyone. We talked for a while, and I guess that was all he needed. Someone to just talk to, to unload all of his stresses to. He actually thanked me for listening, and _hugged me_ , and I kept thinking to myself ' _Is no one actually trying to listen to Will and help him'?_ I mean, I thought he was close with Marlena, and that she would try to guide and listen to him."

Sonny found that hard to believe, and wondered if maybe Marlena _was_ trying to help Will and Will was not listening to her or interested in her advice. She had tried before, and Will just kept screwing up. At some point, maybe she just felt like she couldn't help her grandson anymore. That was how he felt when he finally gave up and left.

Paul then continued. "A few days later, I saw him again and, to my amazement, he looked so much more relaxed. I went to talk to him and he said that things settled down, and that his work situation was better. I didn't question him too hard, just thinking that maybe he got a couple of good articles or something, and maybe your family had stopped with the harassment of him. Oh, how wrong I was."

"What do you mean?"

Paul looked down at the table. "As I said before, and I'm not sure if you knew about this, but the DiMera/Kiriakis feud started up again. I heard the history with that, and how you and Chad DiMera got the feud to end, which I have to say, sounds a lot like you."

Sonny smiled, blushing at the compliment. But then the rest of the comment caught up to him. "The feud started again?"

Paul sighed and nodded. "Chad has changed his mind about keeping the peace, and with you gone, there seem to be no reason for Victor to trust Stefano and Chad. As it turned out, Stefano decided to take advantage of Will's situation and Chad offered Will a better pay at _Sonix_ , plus a part time position at DiMera Enterprises, in their IT department I think. Plus I think they even offered to have him live in the mansion so he did not have to worry about rent, but he did not take them up on the offer for that." Paul paused to take a drink of water before continuing. "At least, not right away."

"Why did he change his mind?"

"Clyde Weston, partially."

Sonny looked confused. "Ben's dad? What does he have to do with this?"

Paul sighed again, wondering if he was doing the right thing by telling Sonny all of this. But Sonny was right earlier that he did have a right to know all of this, and he knew that most of his family would probably rather Sonny be kept in the dark about everything.

"I'm going to have to drop another bomb on you, Sonny, and I hate that I am. But you are right that you deserve to know everything."

Sonny steeled himself, wondering what else Paul could tell him.

"Clyde Weston was behind E.J. DiMera's murder and the attack on you."

Sonny felt like his eyes were bugging out of his head.

Paul continued, needing to get this all out before he lost his nerve. "I don't know why, but the rumor is that E.J. got into a bad deal with him, and the attack on you was revenge against your uncle."

Sonny wasn't sure what to think anymore. "How did you find this out?"

"Will found it out actually. I guess in return for everything Stefano and Chad had done for him, they asked him to look into Clyde Weston. I only met the guy once, and he creeped me out, but he must have done something really bad for Stefano to be interested in him. There were rumors that your cousin Abigail was involved with both Chad and Ben, but again, I don't know that for sure. Will must have found out all of that, but I'm not sure if he gave everything to them. He did, however, turn the information into the Salem P.D. Unfortunately for Will, Clyde found out about it. I don't know how, and while no one can really prove it, it makes sense because of what happened next."

A feeling of worry and dread set in. "What happened?" Sonny asked.

"The writer who raped Will came to town. Apparently the guy was still obsessed with Will, and somehow found out where Will was. He showed up in town and began following Will, calling him and sending him weird messages. Will tried to go to the police, but after everything he had done, no one really believed him and I guess the guy only claimed to want to work with Will again, making Will sound ungrateful. I think your mom even tried to convince people Will was crazy, and that working for Stefano was making Will paranoid. She wondered if maybe it was better that her and Will's dad Lucas took custody of Ari. The crazy part was, if it was not for Stefano, your mom and Lucas would have succeeded."

Sonny felt sick at the thought of my mom doing what Paul was saying, and hated the thought that Stefano was the one who helped Will.

Paul continued. "Chad and Stefano believed Will about his stalker. As it turned out, the stalker had been seen on the DiMera grounds and the guards had chased the guy away. They also offered to give Will security for him and Ari. They hired a lawyer for Will and provided him with stability at DiMera Enterprises. Will then was able to prove that he was a competent, stable father and they had documentation of this guy trespassing."

"Meanwhile, they were actually not the only ones who believed Will." Sonny looked curiously at Paul, who nodded. "Yeah, I believed Will. I saw the guy once when he had approached Will and was talking to him, and he just gave me the creeps, the way he was gushing on and on about Will while also having this evil glint in his eye when he looked at Will. He actually tried to threaten me to stay away from Will when I approached the two of them together after Will left. Gabi also believed Will."

"Gabi?"

Paul nodded. "Yeah, she had been released from prison not too long after you left. She always encouraged Will to keep going after you left, and while I guess she was dealing with a lot and not completely comfortable with Will working for the DiMeras, she didn't try to stop him. And after I saw the guy harassing Will, I approached Will and Gabi and offered to help get information on the guy. Will refused, claiming he could handle it and was so disgusted with his family that he refused to go to them again for help. But Gabi came to see me later and told me she was worried about this guy, and she was afraid that something would happen if someone didn't do anything."

Sonny gulped. "What did you guys do?"

"I contacted a couple people that I know; using some connections I have in the sports and entertainment industry, and gathered as much information as I could. It was amazing how much I was able to find out."

"What did you find out?"

Paul shook his head and sighed. "The guy was unhinged, Sonny. Dangerous. He had been fired from three different jobs, and there had been rumors of him harassing others, but nothing had ever been proven. But if was enough for me to know someone needed to stop this guy. Gabi got the idea to follow him and try to get proof of him doing something. I tried, God, I tried to convince her not to do it, that I would take the evidence we had and let that be enough. But I guess something had happened to her and she kept saying that she had to fix the mistakes of her past, to make things better for Will."

Sonny could see the tears build up in Paul's eyes, and the look of sadness on his face, and suddenly Sonny knew. Tears built up in his eyes as well, and both began to cry.

Paul tearfully nodded at Sonny's silent, pleading question. "Gabi was killed in the accident with Arianna. She had been driving Ari back home after going to the store I think when a car slammed into theirs, running them off the road. Both sustained massive injuries, but Ari was killed instantly, while Gabi made it to the hospital before dying in surgery."

Sonny's heart broke at the thought of Gabi finally being out of jail and with her little girl again, and to be tragically taken away from the world. He thought of how devastated Will must have been, and Rafe!

"God, Rafe must have been devastated."

Paul's face hardened and nodded. "He was. He blamed Will for her death though, and then took things way too far."

"What do you mean?"

Paul sighed. "He stole Ari and Gabi's bodies, and with your Uncle Victor's help, tried to take them to South America to be buried where his family was from."

Sonny was stunned at the news, and Paul continued. "Will did not know right away, and when he found out, he flipped out. He raged at anyone who came to see him, and demanded that Rafe return their bodies. Stefano, once again, was only too happy to help. They had Rafe arrested at the airport when he was trying to board a plane to leave the country, and they got an injuction to stop anyone from taking Gabi and Ari away. Will even got a restraining order out on your uncle for trying to help Rafe, and tried to press charges on him, but they would not stick. Will eventually dropped the charges against Rafe, and allowed Rafe to leave the country with Gabi's body, but refused to let him have Ari. He wanted Ari buried here."

Sonny could barely get out the question, but he needed to know. "Wh-where…where is she?"

Paul sighed and reached over to grab Sonny's hands in comfort. "Ari is buried at the DiMera Mansion. Will moved in their after their deaths, and things just became so bad between people in the town and Will. Will refuses to let anyone come see her grave, especially after her funeral and people made comments blaming Will for her death."

"Why did they blame Will?"

'Will had barely let Ari out of his sight after the writer harassing him. He was afraid of something like this happening. But Gabi needed to run to the store when Will was at work, and was on the phone calling Will as she was driving to let him know she was almost home. People said that either she was not paying attention to the road because of him, or it was his association with the DiMeras that led to her death. But they were wrong."

"What do you mean?" Sonny was still having a hard time processing everything, but it made sense that people blamed Will for this. It had to be because of his association with the DiMeras. Why was Will still trying to align himself with them after all this had happened?

Paul bit his lip and looked down, tearing up again. He cried, "Her death was my fault. The writer guy must have found out we were looking into him, and he was the one who killed them."

Sonny gasped. Paul implored Sonny, "You have to believe me, Sonny, I never thought this was going to happen. I begged Gabi to stay out of it, just keep Ari safe and let me get the information. I didn't have the time to follow the guy around, but I knew I could collect enough information so that the police would believe us when we went to them to complain about the guy. But she refused. When it came out that this guy was the other driver, and Will found out what Gabi and I had been doing, he freaked out and tried to attack me. I tried to make him understand that I believed what he was saying, and that I was only trying to help, but all Will could focus on was his friend was dead, his daughter was gone, and everyone had turned against him and blamed him for their death. He retreated further and further into his shell, and everyone was forced to back away. He yelled that the only people to believe him were dead, me or the DiMeras. He said that the people who were supposed to love and protect Ari did nothing but blame her father for everything that had happened."

Sonny couldn't take hearing anything further and suddenly felt like there was no air in the pub. He stood up and stumbled out of the booth. "I have to go."

Paul stood up as well. "I'm really sorry to be the one who had to tell you all of this."

Sonny began to walk away, and then turned back to Paul. "Is Will still at the mansion?"

Paul nodded, but then looked at Sonny worriedly. "Sonny, don't go see him. It's not a good idea."

But Sonny shook his head. "I have to."

But Paul still tried to stop him, reaching out to grab his arm. "No, you don't Sonny. After everything, just leave Will alone. He does not want to see you."

But Sonny couldn't believe everything that he heard, and felt that if he just saw Will, he would find out this was all some cruel joke against him for being away for so long. He pulled away from Paul and began to walk out, but was stopped again, this time by his mom and Lucas coming into the pub.

"Sonny!" his mom exclaimed. "I am so happy to see you. When did you get in?"

Sonny could barely talk, and just stared at her, while everything he just learned was swirling through his head. He was not quite sure what to feel about seeing his mom and Lucas standing in front of him. While he was supportive of his mom when she first came to him about her relationship, and after what his dad had put his mom through, he just wanted to her to be happy. But Paul's words kept swirling around in his head, and even though he knew his mom didn't like Will, it was still hard for him to comprehend her and Lucas acting the way Paul described. His mom began to get concerned, wondering why her son looked like he was going to pass out and get angry at the same time. She looked up and saw Paul staring at her son with a look of sadness.

"What did you do?" she accused him. "What did you say to Sonny?"

Paul hardened, looking at Adrienne and Lucas in disgust. He still couldn't fathom how they could treat Will as badly as they did. "I told him the truth. I told him what _you_ all should have told him before."

Lucas and Adrienne looked confused at first, but then paled when they realized what Paul meant.

Lucas angrily exclaimed, "You told him?! What right did you have to do that?!"

Paul yelled back at them and jabbed his finger into Lucas' chest. "What right did you all have to keep from him what happened? He had a right to know that his goddaughter had died! That Will did not actually cheat on him in L.A., that he had been raped! Don't yell at me for being the only one who had the guts to tell him the truth."

Sonny still stood there stunned at what he was hearing. He was starting to wonder if all this was not some cruel joke or nightmare he could not wake up from. Could this all possibly be real?

Adrienne tried to reach out to Sonny and implored, "Sonny, you have to understand, we were just trying to protect you."

Sonny snapped out of his stupor and stared at his mother. "From what? I am a grown man, I deserve to know about these things."

"But it would have only brought you back to Will. You were finally getting to a place where you could be free and happy, and if you learned about all this, you would have been rushing back here to see Will."

"Of course I would have! He was my husband, I loved him at one point. I loved Ari as my daughter, and I deserved to be able to be here to say goodbye to her. Don't I deserve the opportunity to make these decisions for myself? Or was it better that I live the rest of my life believing she was alive? I would have wanted to see her one day!"

"Will would not have allowed you to see her." Lucas said.

Sonny looked fiercely at him. "And from what I heard, that was whose fault, huh? How could you, after everything you went through with Sami, try to take Will's daughter away from him?"

"What was I supposed to do? I was not going to allow my granddaughter to be raised in a house with Stefano DiMera! You know what that man was capable of! It was bad enough when it happened with Allie, I would not allow that to happen with Ari."

Adrienne spoke up in Lucas' defense. "Sonny, you know what Will was like. And he just got so much worse after you left. We were only trying to make sure Ari was okay. He would not listen to reason, and we were just so concerned about what could happen to Ari in that house."

"Well you did a real bag up job of that."

Another voice spoke up. "That was not our fault."

Sonny looked over at his Uncle Victor, who had just entered the pub, and stared at him with a scathing look. The words that Paul told him of how Clyde Weston had attacked him in retaliation against his uncle kept running throughout his head. And the thought of Victor helping Rafe steal Ari's body from Will and try to send them to another country? "No, but this is _your_ fault! How could you do all that to Will?"

"Sonny, I know how much you loved Ari, and I just felt she would have been better off being raised with our family. And then after she passed away, I was trying to help Rafe grieve and it was his right to have his family together. Will would not have allowed what Rafe actually needed, and at the time, we all believe Stefano was at fault."

"But he wasn't, now was he? And what about the fact that the attack on me was REVENGE AGAINST YOU! Huh? What about that?!"

Victor sighed at looked down. "You have no idea how much guilt I carried around about that. I tried so hard to keep my family protected from that man, and I failed at that."

Adrienne spoke up then. "Sonny, your uncle did try to keep you safe. And that writer guy coming to town had nothing to do with Victor."

"No, that was Clyde. Because Will was trying to do what no one in this town seemed to want to do in the first place. Get justice for everything that had happened. But no one believed Will, did they?"

"There was no reason to. We all felt horrible after the video and pictures came out, but how could we know?"

Sonny stopped "Video and pictures?"

Everyone stopped, Adrienne realizing she had revealed more than Sonny knew. She looked over at Paul, who realized it was up to him again to tell Sonny. But then Lucas spoke up, surprising them all.

"After this guy killed Gabi and Ari and everything happened, he kidnapped Will and tortured him after Ari's funeral. No one knew he was missing, except for Chad and Stefano. When he was found, they also found a video of Will's rape and pictures of him stalking Will. It proved everything that Will was saying."

Just when Sonny didn't think he could be shocked any further, he is found to be wrong. "There is a video?"

Everyone nodded. Paul spoke up. "It shows Will being dragged into the guy's bedroom, completely drugged and barely knowing what is going on, and all the degrading things that…that…animal did to him. There is no way Will consented to what that guy did."

Sonny stared at everyone. He couldn't hear anymore. None of this could be real. This was all just a nightmare. He needed to go see Will, who would prove to him that none of this real, or that he needed to just wake up.

"Where are you going?" Adrienne called out when Sonny went to leave.

"Where do you think? I'm going to see Will. I can't listen to you all anymore."

Lucas grabbed Sonny's arm. "Sonny that is not a good idea. Will is not going to want to see you. Just leave him alone."

"Like you all did? No, wait, you all harassed him so badly he refuses to talk to anyone but Stefano and Chad! Does he even talk to Sami?"

Lucas nodded. "From time to time. Sami refuses to tell me anything, but I do know that Sami does talk to him, and the kids do as well, plus I believe my mom has seen him."

Victor spoke up. "Trust us, Sonny. For your own good, stay away from that boy."

"For my own good?! What the hell does that mean? When are you all going to get it through your heads that I am a grown man, and can make my own decisions? Ari was my daughter too!"

Adrienne tried to reach out to Sonny to grab his shoulder, but he stepped away from her. "Sonny, please believe us, after everything Will has been through, it is just better this way if we all leave him alone. It is the way Will wants it, and we all just have to accept that."

"You mean it is just easier than trying to deal with Will Horton who is in pain."

Lucas spoke up again, his own grief for losing his granddaughter and basically his only son coming out in anger at Sonny. "Hey! Don't you dare act like you know my son better than I do! I would love to be there for him, to comfort him and help him to grieve, but he refuses to let me come near him. He has a restraining order barring most of us from coming within 300 feet of him. So I am doing the best I can by staying away. And YOU need to be the same! Just leave him alone."

Sonny could see the pain in Lucas' eyes as he said all that, and Adrienne reached out to grip Lucas' hand. But Sonny still couldn't believe everything that they were saying, and he needed to see Will. For some reason, he felt that Will would let him come and see Ari. Let him grieve and say goodbye.

Victor spoke up. "Sonny, trust us and let it go. You won't be able to get in to see him. Chad and Stefano won't let you."

But Sonny didn't believe him. Chad used to be his friend, was still his friend as far as Sonny was concerned. He would help Sonny. Without saying another word, raced out of the pub and started walking around town. Without thinking, he pulled out his phone and looked up newspaper articles in Salem. He stopped in his place when he saw the first headline of the FBI investigating the Salem P.D. He clicked on the link and was shocked to read that Will had written a scathing article about the Salem P.D. after the death of Ari and his own kidnapping. He brought up several areas of incompetence within the police department, and the article had such a reaction that the FBI was forced to intervene. The article only ended with the statement that the investigation was ongoing.

One thing that Sonny was amazed about was the fact that there were no other mentions of Will's kidnapping, no details of what happened, and no mention of his stalker. He even searched for articles or notifications regarding Gabi and Ari's accident, but there was nothing. Sonny couldn't believe there was nothing regarding their deaths or the investigation. It just did not seem right to him. It made him still wonder if all this was even true, but he found it really hard to believe that his mom and Uncle Victor would lie to him about all this.

With that determination, he continued on his journey to the DiMera Mansion. He needed that confirmation of everything he had heard. He kept hearing the words that were told to him in the pub swirling around in his head.

" _The DiMera and Kiriakis feud kind of started again, and Will has aligned himself with Chad and Stefano."_

" _After everything Will had been through, most of the town pretty much just leaves him alone. He wants nothing to do with most of his family."_

" _Will honestly believed that he cheated on you. But that was not what happened."_

" _Will was raped out in L.A. by the writer they brought in to help Will."_

" _Gabi was killed in the accident with Arianna."_

" _After this guy killed Gabi and Ari and everything happened, he kidnapped Will and tortured him after Ari's funeral. When he was found, they also found a video of Will's rape and pictures of him stalking Will. It proved everything that Will was saying."_

" _Trust us, Sonny. For your own good, stay away from that boy."_

" _Sonny, please believe us, after everything Will has been through, it is just better this way if we all leave him alone. It is the way Will wants it, and we all just have to accept that."_

" _After everything, just leave Will alone. He does not want to see you."_

He didn't care what anyone said. He believed that Will needed him. Will always needed him. He should have never left. Even with everything that had happened between them, he should have been here for Will to be that supportive person Will needed. They could have grieved together, and he could have made sure that no one in his family harassed or blamed Will for Gabi and Ari's death. He _should have_ been here for Will. Someone should have called him and told him what was going on.

* * *

He arrived at his destination and, quickly getting past the front gates, he rushed up to the door of the DiMera Mansion. It was still slightly early, so he wasn't sure who would be in. But it sounded like Will rarely went out, so he hoped that Will was the one who answered the door. But it was Chad, who was surprised to see Sonny at his door.

"Sonny?"

Sonny rushed inside the mansion before Chad could stop him.

"What? What are you doing here, Sonny?"

Sonny looked around. "Where is he?"

Chad looked confused, but guarded. "Where is who? My father is out."

Sonny looked Chad in the eye. "Do not play dumb with me, Chad. Not today. Where is Will?"

Chad immediately hardened at that. "Why would you think Will is here? Not like you have actually cared about him over the past year."

"Of course I care. I never knew what happened, because if I had known, I would have been there for him!"

This gets Chad angry. He had seen his friend get so low, and watched him grieve for his daughter. His father may have wanted Will to be a part of the family to use Will to their advantage, but Chad honestly cared about Will and saw a friend who had always tried to be there for him. He wanted to repay the favor. Watching his friend, and someone who was like a little brother to him, get torn down and decimated by people he once thought of as family made him sick. And for Sonny to come back now, after everything that had happened, and try to play the white knight was just not acceptable to Chad.

"Oh, so you think you can just waltz in and take over after you left! Screw you! You just left when everything got too hard! Will may have made mistakes, but you were the coward who just ran when you could not take it anymore. And what, you just think that you can come back here and Will is going to jump into your arms?! NO WAY! Will has everyone he needs!"

"Who, you and your father!? You two are the reason why he is estranged from his own family!"

This made Chad even angrier, and he forgot about Will being in the mansion, screaming and flinging his arms out. "THEY ARE THE REASON! They abandoned Will and made him doubt his abilities as a father! He needed people to believe him when that psychopath came to town and was terrorizing him! Do not act like you have any idea what has gone on in this town."

Sonny couldn't take it anymore. He needed to see Will. "Will! Where are you?! Will!?"

Fearing Will would hear them, Chad grabbed Sonny's arm and tried to pull him to the door. "Hey! Stop calling out for him! He isn't here. Leave him alone and GET OUT!"

Before Chad could push Sonny out of the living room and out the door, Chad's fears came to light as Will descended down the stairs slowly, his leg still healing from his tortured night. He had been working in his room on a project for Chad to present to the Board Members to ensure his continued tenure at DiMera Enterprises, so that Andre could not kick him out, or any other family members.

"Chad? Why is someone yelling…" he drifted off as the sight of his ex-husband stopped him in his tracks.

Sonny and Chad stopped struggling and Sonny finally got his first look in over a year of his ex. But it was not the sight he always thought he would see. Gone was the boy with the soft and bright features. The first thing he noticed was the haunted look in Will's eyes, along with the scar running down the one side of his face. His right leg shuffled from an obvious trauma, and suddenly Sonny knew that everything he had been told was true. It all finally sunk in.

"Will." He breathed out. "I just heard about…"

But before he could get the rest of his sentence out, he was stunned by the look of pure rage and hatred shot at him. The words were caught in his throat as Will suddenly changed into a wild animal and barreled his body into Sonny, throwing him against the door.

"Get out! You can't have her, she is my daughter! Get out!"

Sonny tried to fight off Will, not quite understanding what Will is talking about. Despite Will's injuries, the hatred he has running through his body propels him to keep fighting Sonny. When Will's shirt sleeves were pushed up as he lunged at Sonny, Sonny could see the scars of rope burns on his wrists, as if he had been tied up.

He screams at Sonny as Chad pulls him away from the stunned Sonny, "You will never get to have her. You abandoned us and got your wish, so get the hell out!"

Needing to calm Will down, fearing what might happen if he doesn't, Chad pulls Will into the family room, away from Sonny, and grasps his face. "Will, Will, look at me. It's Chad, it's okay."

Hyperventilating, Will stammers out, "They can't take her, they can't have her, she is my daughter."

Chad turned Will away from Sonny, instructing him to breathe. "Breathe for me, Will. Like the counselor said. In and out, in and out." Mimicking what the counselor showed, Chad took a deep breath in and held in for a few seconds before letting it out, forcing Will to copy him. As Will did that, Chad continued saying, "No one is going to take her, I promise. Remember, my father ensured that they could not have her. We promised you, and we have kept our promise. She is staying right where she belongs, here with us."

Two of the security guards came in, hearing a commotion form the back, and kept Sonny back away from Chad and Will. Sonny was amazed at how comforting Chad could be, and how he seemed to be able to soothe Will right away. It made Sonny actually feel jealous since _he_ used to be the one who could do that for Will. But it seemed as if now Chad had stepped up and taken that role.

Chad had finally calmed Will down enough. He knew he needed to get Sonny out of the mansion, but he didn't want Will to be in the room with Sonny any longer than he already was. He didn't want to give Sonny the chance to work Will up again and try to mess with his head. "Hey, you okay?" Will nodded. "Why don't you go outside and go see Ari, okay? I will take care of everything else."

Will looked sadly into Chad's eyes, silently asking a question.

Chad nodded. "Yes, he will be gone. Now, go. You know she wants to see you. And you have a big day tomorrow, remember? Father is all excited about this. You are going to be a real member of this family."

Will smiled at that, tears still running down his face. He was still in shock that Stefano wanted to "adopt" him and let him change his last name to "DiMera". Despite everything Stefano had done and said, when it came down to it, he began to realize that he couldn't count on the rest of his family. They only saw him as a disappointment and screw up. But Chad and Stefano didn't. They believed him when everyone else didn't, and were there for him when everyone else turned their backs on him. They made him understand the true meaning of family.

Without looking back at Sonny, Will quickly and quietly walked out of the room. Sonny tried to call out to him, but Will ignored his and left. Chad signaled to one of the guards to follow Will and make sure no one bothered him. The other guard stayed behind to help escort Sonny off of the DiMera property.

Once Will was far enough away so Sonny could not call out to him, Chad turned back to Sonny and glared at him. "Are you happy now? Why the hell would you come here? Haven't you hurt him enough?"

"I wanted to know what happened. I wanted to hear the truth from Will."

"Well you got it. Now get out before you really cause any damage."

Sonny glared back at Chad. "I did not come here to hurt him or upset him. I came here because Arianna Grace was as much my daughter as she is his, and I deserve a chance to say goodbye to her."

Chad got right in Sonny's face, fiercely protective of his friend and new adoptive brother, and the dead little girl he thought of as a niece. "She was never _your_ daughter! You had the chance to say goodbye when you left town and gave no notice as to when you would be back."

"Hey, I needed to leave town. After everything that had happened, I just needed some space and time away. I was going to come back."

"But not for Will and Ari, right? No, my guess is you came back for your little baseball lover, and in between you would fit in time to demand to see Ari, and everyone could see you as the perfect little Kiriakis, saving the day as always. Too little, too late Sonny."

Sonny was really getting pissed off. Why was Chad acting like _he_ abandoned Ari and Will? Will was the one who messed, who cheated on him, and who broke every promise he ever made. Sonny tried to make their marriage work, he gave Will chance after chance, but after a while, it was too much. Sonny needed to get away.

"I am not the one who broke his vows. _I am not the one who cheated!_ I was there with Will through every mess, every disaster, everything good and bad going on! But it just all became too much! I gave him chance after chance, and _HE_ destroyed it all!"

"Oh wow, poor Sonny Kiriakis. Had to lower himself enough to be with pathetic Will Horton, the town screw up. Not like he ever kept any secrets from Will. Not like he lied to Will whenever he felt like it. Not like he was still in love with someone else, using Will as a placeholder, and when Paul came back, suddenly Will was the burden he had to deal with. You are such a selfish son of a bitch!"

Sonny was stunned at the hatred and vicious words being thrown at him from someone who he thought was his best friend. What had happened in this town?

"Chad, why are you acting this way? I thought you were my best friend?"

Chad laughed. "I was. And then I saw Will, someone who has been like a brother to me, being treated worse than dirt by _your_ family. He struggled and did everything he could to try and prove he was a good father, and was practically killing himself in the process. So I stepped up. I was there, and my father was there, when no one else was. _We_ gave Will everything he needed, and when he truly lost everything, _we_ were the ones who were there, comforting Will and making sure every day he remembered to breathe and go on."

"And now, what? You adopted him into your little family? He has a family, and you and your father are using him as a pawn for your own selfish gain."

"Wow that is rich coming from you! Don't you dare ever think you know what my intentions are. Your family, _his_ so called family, threw him away when he was too much trouble. My father and I are his family now. _I_ protect him from everything around him."

Sonny scoffed. "You protect him? You are brainwashing him. You are using him for your own agenda against my family. How could you let this all happen again? Don't you remember before?"

Chad had enough. He was sick of listening to Sonny act like he knew what was best for Will. Will was still fragile, still reeling from the loss of his daughter, and needed people around who were not going to leave when the going got tough. He still remembered the nights of hear Will crying in his sleep for his lost daughter and friend, lying in pain after he was found and refusing to take pain medicine, and the horror Chad saw when Stefano's men finally found Will after searching for 16 long hours. Chad will never forget the terror he felt in wondering if he would ever see Will again.

Chad had done everything possible to ensure Will felt safe and happy in the mansion. He made sure every possible mention of Ari was taken out of the newspapers, that the videos of his rape and kidnapping and torture were deleted, along with the pictures, and that no one wrote anything to demean Will or cause him pain. He knew his father probably had some evidence of what happened to possibly use against Will in the future, to ensure Will stayed loyal to them, but Chad promised himself he would stop his father before that ever happened. His brother would not be hurt by what had happened ever again.

"Get out, Sonny. You are no longer welcome here. We are not business partners; we are not friends, we are nothing more to each other but on opposite sides of feuding families, so get out. Will is no longer yours to use however you want. You want to talk about using and brainwashing people? At least I never made anyone believe I loved them so I could get over my ex. At least I never made vows and said I love would them through the good and the bad, but take off the moment things don't go my way and get too tough. At least I never resented Will being in my life because he was the roadblock to being with my true love. Say whatever you want about my father, but at least he loves Will for who Will is. He doesn't hold Will's past against him or judge him because of who his parents are. And between me and him, we will ensure no one in this pathetic excuse for a town will ever get the chance to hurt Will again."

The guard dragged Sonny out the door and up the driveway. Chad stared at them as they left and said, "Goodbye Sonny and don't come back. Or you can be the next Kiriakis in jail for trespassing." Sonny was stunned after Chad's speech that he barely fought the guard. They reached the gate and Sonny stepped out, watching as the gate closed and the guard stared at him to leave. After a few tense moments, Sonny finally turned and left.

He walked back to the Kiriakis Mansion and thought of his encounter with Chad and Will. Neither were the people he thought they were when he left. Gone was the boy he fell in love with, and in his place was a man who was no longer recognizable to Sonny. Beside him was the guy he thought of as his best friend, and yet he was ready to throw him out and send him to jail in protection of Will. None of this seemed right. This was not the Salem he had come to love. He wanted that Salem back. He wanted Ari back, and Gabi, and the Will he knew before, and Chad, and everything back to the way it was.

But deep down in his heart, he knew that wish would be one that would never come true. Sonny just had to learn to live with that. Everything truly had changed.

 _Please review!_


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